


Not Strangers Anymore

by purgatoan



Series: 12 Days of Destiel [11]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Angst, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M, a bit of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-24
Updated: 2016-12-24
Packaged: 2018-09-11 10:26:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8975980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purgatoan/pseuds/purgatoan
Summary: Dean starts preparing Christmas Supper for himself, but, when he glances at his neigbor’s house, undecorated and sad, he decides to invite Castiel over for Christmas.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for 12 Days of Christmas Challenge | @waywardlullabies | Day 11
> 
> Prompt: Baking and Christmas Eve
> 
> Beta: @spin-the-birdie on Tumblr
> 
> It’s the eleventh out of 12 Destiel pieces I’ll be publishing daily, from December 14th to 25th, as a Christmas Celebration.
> 
> First time writing neigbors AU!

Dean wasn’t someone who was crazy about Christmas, but he liked the holidays nonetheless.

It was nice to get some time off work and spend it in the kitchen, as cooking was one of Dean’s hobbies. It helped him relax and it always made his worries go away, not that there was many of them anyway. 

Dean loved his job, he dreamt of being a mechanic since he was a kid, and the joy of being able to help people in whatever way he could made him get up every morning with a smile on his face. However, after Sam and Jess got married, he ended up living alone, so the only thing that worried him from time to time was the fact that he didn’t have any friends.

The main reason for that was the fact that he had to move from his hometown to a bigger town nearby, as he took upon a job offer in a bigger mechanic shop with a better salary. It meant leaving lots of people behind, but Dean was never the one that would back out if he set his mind to something.

That’s how he ended up preparing a Christmas Supper for himself only, glancing once in awhile to the only undecorated house on the street, opposite to the one he was living in. 

The man the lived in that house seemed to be alone as well, from what Dean knew. He never saw anyone but Castiel (as that’s what his neighbor’s name was) exiting or entering the house. It made Dean a bit sad that his neighbour didn’t even bother to put some Christmas ornaments in his windows or around the house. Was he not celebrating Christmas or didn’t he see any sense in celebrating them alone?

Exactly.

Since Dean didn’t have anyone to celebrate with maybe he should invite his neighbour to celebrate with him?

Without thinking twice, Dean pulled the apron over his head and set it on the kitchen counter, wiping his floor-covered hands in his jeans. Then, he ran out of the house, throwing a winter coat onto his back as he crossed the street. He was in front of his neighbour's door in no time, knocking on it politely, trying to come up with something that would explain his intrusion.

The door opened, revealing his neighbour, dressed in nothing but a pair of jeans, his feet bare, his hair disheveled. He looked like he just woke up. 

“Yeah?” Castiel yawned.

“Hi,” Dean smiled apologetically, “I saw that your house isn’t decorated for Christmas and I thought that, maybe, you’d like to celebrate Christmas with me? To cook a bit and then have a Christmas Supper? I mean, I’m all by myself and it seems like you are too, so,” he cut off, waiting for his neighbour to say something.

“Well, that would be great, but, are you sure?” Castiel blushed slightly and Dean fought not to stare at the toned chest right in front of him.

“Yeah, I’m sure,” he answered, a wide grin on his face.

“Okay. Then, give me a minute to get dressed and I’ll be right back,” Castiel stepped back as Dean nodded, letting Dean in, then turned around and disappeared in one of the rooms.

Dean’s gaze wandered around the hallway, taking in almost empty walls, except for the few pictures that were hanging on them. However, before he had a chance to take a closer look at those, Castiel emerged onto the hallway, dressed in a dress shirt, dark blue sweater and dark-washed jeans.

He would be lying if he were to say he didn’t realize how handsome Castiel looked like in this outfit.

“Okay. Lead the way, my neighbour,” Castiel took the coat off the hanger and threw it on hastily.

“Sure,” Dean responded and they both got out of Castiel’s house, their boots making the snow underneath crunch.

The weather seemed to calm down a bit; the snow stopped falling and the wind was blowing gently, making Dean and Castiel’s cheeks redden up a bit as they crossed the street, walking side by side. When they reached the door, Dean fumbled in his pockets to find a key, but he realised he was so invested in convincing his neighbour to celebrate with him he didn’t even close the door.

Dean pushed the door open, saying, “Seems like I forgot to close it,” and got inside, flicking the light switch on.

“It happens,” Castiel admitted, taking off his coat and hanging it right next to Dean’s.

“So, I don’t know if you’re into this, but I started making Gingerbread Cookies. Would you like to give me a hand with it?” Dean offered, walking toward kitchen, Castiel following suit.

“Sure, sounds great,” he answered, rolling up his sleeves, so they wouldn’t get dirty.

“Awesome,” Dean smiled widely and Cas couldn’t help but smile back at him.

Dean handed him a rolling pin, then split the dough in half, setting each piece on a different counter, covered a bit with flour, so they would have some room to move around and cut the cookies. He gestured for Cas to get a bit closer and slid a few cutters Castiel’s way, leaving some for himself.

“Okay,” Dean muttered under his breath, “Do you mind if I turn on the radio? I hate doing anything in silence,” he explained.

“Not at all, I don’t like silence, either,” Castiel admitted, as he took a bit of the dough and started rolling it out, surprised at how easily it was coming off the rolling pin.

“Great,” Dean let out as Christmas music began filling the air, the soft sounds of Christmas carols making Cas hum softly.

To be honest, Castiel planned on sleeping throughout the whole Christmas, as he genuinely had no one to spend it with. His family wasn’t speaking to him, because of the fact he didn’t want to follow his father's footsteps and become a lawyer, choosing to become a doctor instead. The only ones who still kept in touch with him were Gabriel and Balthazar, his brothers, but they had their own families and didn’t invite Cas over for holidays.

He didn’t blame them, though. Castiel spent all the last year’s holidays with one of his brothers, but he chose to give them a break from his presence this year. He didn’t want to be a burden and he even wanted to take a shift on Christmas Eve and Christmas itself, but it didn’t work out. 

And, as much as it hurt him to be alone, he tried not to show it to anyone.

Dean’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts, “Earth to Castiel. What were you thinking about?” Dean began cutting the first take of cookies, putting them on a baking tray afterward.

“Nothing important. Work, family,” Castiel let out, trying to brush it off.

“You sure? We can talk about it, you know?” Dean began rolling out another take of dough.

“I don’t think there’s a lot to talk about. I go to work, I get back home, get some sleep, and that’s how my life looks like” he shrugged, cutting out a reindeer in the rolled out dough.

“How about you tell me about your work? I have no idea what you do for a living, to be honest,” Dean admitted, turning on the oven.

“Well, I’m a trauma surgeon in our hospital,” he said shyly, putting the cookies on the baking tray.

“Really? Wow, that’s amazing. It must feel amazing to save people, am I right?” Dean wondered, his face lit up with a huge grin.

“You are. That’s what keeps me going, knowing that I’m able to save someone’s life every day. It’s like...” Castiel cut off, trying to come up with a good explanation, “It’s like being addicted from adrenaline and saving people. I get high on it. I know it probably sounds crazy, but that’s the best way to put it.”

Dean checked the thermometer and got back to working on cookies, “No, not at all. It makes a lot of sense. I mean, you don’t care about the paycheck and, if you ask me, that’s the kind of a doctor I’d like to treat me. The one that sees every patient as someone needing help, not a stack of money.”

Castiel couldn’t help but blush, “Thank you, Dean. You might be surprised, but you’re one of the very few people that think this way.”

“Really? How so?” Surprise was clear on Dean’s face as he put the first tray of cookies in the oven.

“Well, a big part of my family thinks that becoming a lawyer would be a better choice, because they’d be able to pass the family advocate office to me,” Castiel explained, “They kept repeating me that I’d never get as much money as a surgeon, but, frankly, I don’t give a shit. I want to do what I love, not be trapped in some life that’s not even mine,” he added, his voice raised a bit.

He never admitted it to anyone, Dean was the first person to hear this confession.

“I’m sorry, I don’t want to ruin your Christmas with some pathetic stories. I bet you’d like to talk about less depressing topics,” Castiel took an empty tray from Dean and set it on the counter right beside him.

“Hey, you’re not ruining anything. Rather the opposite, I’m glad to have you here today,” Dean admitted shyly, smiling softly. “Also, it seems like you’ve got no one to talk to and I’m more than happy to listen. Really.”

“Okay, if you insist. But, truly, there’s nothing more that I’d like to say. It sucks that they can’t accept my choice, but I learned to live with it and I’m happy with the path I chose for myself,” Castiel wiped his forehead with his sleeve, it was becoming really hot in the kitchen with the oven running.

Dean took a washing cloth and opened the oven, taking out the first tray of cookies. They were ready, the smell divine. Castiel couldn’t help but grin, happy with the fact that the cookies he helped Dean made seemed to turn out great.

He set the tray on a cutting board and turned his attention to Castiel, “I’m happy to hear that. No matter what anyone says, your happiness is what matters most, right?” 

“Definitely. How about you? Where do you work?” Castiel began rolling out another portion of dough, but he was going slow. That was because they ran out of trays and had to wait for the cookies to bake in order to put them on the tray that was now in the oven.

“It’s nothing special, really. I’m a mechanic, I work at the Singer’s Automotive,” he responded, his voice laced with nervousness.

Castiel could tell something was off, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it, “Nothing special? Why do you think so?”

“Being a mechanic’s got nothing on being a surgeon, ain’t that true?” Dean let out a dry chuckle as he leaned on the counter, taking a break from cutting the cookies.

It seemed like Dean didn’t think his job was equally as important as Castiel’s.

“I dare to disagree. Let me give you a simple example, okay?” when Castiel didn’t hear a word of objection from Dean, he carried on,” Let’s say, someone goes to you so you would fix their car, because there’s something wrong with the brakes. On the day when they pick the car up from you, fixed and ready to go, someone else crosses the street without paying attention and they barely manage to avoid the hit. See, if you weren’t doing your job, I would have at least one patient in the trauma. Of course, if they don’t end up worse than bruised and battered.”

It took awhile for Dean to speak again, it looked like he was shocked with the way Castiel underlined his job’s importance, “I never thought about it this way,” he admitted, clearly surprised.

“I can tell,” Castiel wiped his flour covered hands in a washcloth, then took place next to Dean, “You need to give yourself more credit, you know? Every job is important, there are no better and worse ones.”

“You really are smart, Cas,” Dean teased and Castiel couldn’t help but swat him with a washcloth.

“Shut up,” he laughed, then said, “Just, don’t think of yourself so low. You’re an amazing person, time to acknowledge it,” the words were out of Castiel’s mouth before he realised, making him stop mid-track.

He was worried that he had overstepped, complimenting Dean so openly, but Dean only flashed him a grin, blushing slightly.

“I don’t know, man,” Dean’s voice was filled with some unspoken emotions, “I never thought highly of myself, you know? My brother, Sammy, he’s a smartass. He’s a lawyer, actually, and I always considered him better than me. More clever, able to be someone important in the world. I’m just a grunt, that’s it,” he let out, his gaze dropped to the floor.

Before he had a chance to think, Castiel’s hands reached to cup Dean’s chin on their own accord, forcing Dean to look him straight in the eyes.

“Career doesn’t define whether you’re wise or not. My parents are lawyers, but they’re dumb as hell,” that earned Castiel a beautiful laugh from Dean, “and you seem really smart, I’m not kidding.”

“Well, I guess you’ll keep telling me that until I agree, huh?” Dean wondered and, for the first time, Cas had the occasion to admire the crinkles around his eyes from up close.

Cas opened his mouth to speak, but the timer started beeping, signaling that the cookies were ready, and he let go of Dean’s face, knowing that the moment was over.

They kept working on the cookies, sharing glances here and there, along with small smiles, sharing a bit more information about themselves. It didn’t feel weird, though, it seemed like an old routine that they’ve been doing for years. If someone were to watch them, they would definitely think that it wasn’t the first time they were together in one room.

Castiel felt comfortable in Dean’s presence. He already found out that Dean would never judge anyone by anything or try to press his point of view onto someone, and that meant a lot to him. He always had to deal with others telling him what to do or what to think and he was glad he found someone who valued his opinions and genuinely wanted to listen to what he had to say in many matters.

Soon, all the cookies were baked and they began preparing the supper. Castiel started laying the table while Dean heated up food. Then, they both brought all the dishes to the living room, proudly setting a plate full of the cookies they made right in the middle of the table.

“Castiel?” Dean wondered, fiddling with the sleeve of his sweater.

“What’s up, Dean?” Cas laid the cutlery around the plates, then turned his attention toward Dean.

“Do you mind if we, uhm, exchange greetings now? It’s been a tradition in my family to do it before having dinner. It’s absolutely fine if you don’t want to do it, I just thought...,” before Dean had a chance to ramble some more, Castiel left the cutlery and stepped closer to Dean.

“I’d love to do that,” Castiel said simply, then continued, “Could you start, though? I don’t know how they’re supposed to look like.”

“Sure,” Dean flashed Cas a wide grin. “I wish you lots of happiness and satisfaction if it comes to your job. I hope you’ll be able to save every single person that they bring to you. Also, I’d like for your family to understand you better and I hope I’ll get to spend a lot more time with you in the future, ‘cause you’re awesome, Cas,” Dean’s voice broke a bit at the end of his speech, making Cas’ eyes water.

Castiel took a deep breath, then began, “I wish you cut yourself some slack. You’re more and better than you think, I hope you’ll believe me someday,” he cut off for awhile, then added hesitantly, “And if not, I’ll be there to remind you about this, if you’ll have me.”

Without saying a word, Dean’s hands reached forward and he entwined his fingers with Castiel’s. They stayed like that for a bit, just enjoying the feeling of the other person being so close that they could feel the other one’s breath fanning over their face.  
Castiel couldn’t help but get lost in Dean’s eyes, those eyes that were looking at him with so much adoration, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. No one ever looked at him like that.

Finally, a shy smile found its way onto Dean’s face and Castiel took it as an invitation, pressing a sweet kiss to Dean’s lips. He was meaning to pull away, but Dean was having none of it as he put his hands on the back of Castiel’s neck, pulling him even closer, if it was possible.

Dean tasted like Gingerbread cookies they baked together and a bit of mint, the taste intoxicating, making Castiel’s mind hazy. It seemed like they outside world didn’t existed, there was nothing, but the two of them, slowly and patiently learning about the other one.

After some time, Dean pulled away slowly, their breathing slightly ragged from the kiss. He was grinning widely, showing off his beautiful teeth, and Cas immediately marked this sight as the most perfect he’s ever seen.

Nothing could compare to what he had in front of his eyes in that moment.

“Merry Christmas, Cas,” Dean whispered, the green orbs nearly sparkling in the dim light.

“Merry Christmas, Dean,” Castiel responded confidently, pulling Dean closer and embracing him in his arms in a tight hug.

And, for the first time in a long while, Castiel knew that this wish would come true. 

Because, his Christmas had no choice but be Merry if he had such an incredible and humble man by his side.


End file.
